The South Australian Housing Trust: A Socioeconomic Case Study in Public Housing

The cost structure of Australian public housing authorities and its implications for the social administrative side of public housing operations is examined through a study of the South Australian Housing Trust. The importance of the pooled debt burden for lowering costs to well below private market levels is indicated. The sales policy is examined and it is argued that the sale of public housing into owner occupation is a major exacerbating factor in the high cost of rental rebating and in unbalancing the social mix among public housing tenants. The implications of the 1978 Commonwealth State Housing Agreement for the South Australian Housing Trust are briefly examined.